Monthly Archives: October 2013

Boo! Happy Halloween

With Halloween right around the corner, do you have all your ducks (or pumpkins, as it were) in a row? No? Not to worry. Here are some Halloween goodies that can help you get your spooky on—in a kid-friendly way, of course. All of them are aimed at almost all ages, with appropriate adult supervision.

Surface Carving Kit (Pumpkin Masters)
pumpkin masters carving kitsWhat’s Halloween without carved pumpkins? Looking for spooky, cute, or something in between? Pumpkin Masters has all the tools and accessories you and the kids could possibly need to decorate the perfect pumpkin, while keeping it fun, safe, creative and affordable: carving kits, patterns (many are free to download on their website), specialized tools, jack-o-lantern lights, flashing strobe lights, and more. If mom, dad, or the teenagers who haunt your home want to do something a little (or a lot) more complicated, we’ve got you covered. Our new favorite is the Surface Carving Kit, which, as you can guess from the name, has you do your carving on the surface of the pumpkin—without having to hollow it out or clean seeds off your floor. And surface-carved pumpkins last longer. The kit comes with three interchangeable carving tips, 12 patterns, and more—enough to get you off to a great start. On their website, Pumpkin Masters also has video instructions and on-line carving contests.http://www.pumpkinmasters.com/

Pumpkin Talker

and Halloween Pics ‘n’ Props (Hallmark)

scooby doPumpkin Masters is far from the only game in town. Hallmark’s Pumpkin Talker line comes with easy-to-use templates for carving Batman, Cinderella, Scooby Doo, or a nameless scary jack-o-lantern (each Talker is sold separately and includes one pattern). The templates are easy to use, and when you’re done, put the Talker device into your pumpkin and the motion-activated voice will “speak” in the character’s voice whenever someone comes near. The one we tried, Scooby Doo, is a family favorite and sounded just like the lovable dog from the show. $14.95.
pics 'n propsHallmark’s Halloween Pics ‘n’ Props kit comes with a haunted house backdrop and a ton of props, masks, and other stuff to make great pictures or holiday cards to share with your family and friends. It also comes with a photo album so you can make a coffee table book people will look at a lot more than the wine one you t but no one ever looks at…  $29.95. http://www.hallmark.com

Room on the Broom, by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler
room on the broomAfter a long morning of pumpkin carving and photo shoots, what better way to unwind with the family than by curling up and sharing a book. Donaldson (a UK Children’s Laureate from 2011-2013, and Scheffler are the same author-illustrator team that created the critically-acclaimed series, The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child. The book is very cute and comes as either a regular or board book (for about $4.95), as well as on DVD (about $8.50). Kids Preferred has created an adorable line of plush toys (sold separately for $14.95) to accompany the book, including a Witch, Cat, or Dragon, all of which are the perfect reading companions for youngsters. www.kidspreferred.com and roomonthebroom.com/us
Halloween Stories Collection, Volume 2,
Too exhausted to even pick up a book? If so, Scholastic has the next-best thing: 14 not-really-scary stories that will be a hit with early and/or pre-readers. These movies bring best-selling children’s storybooks to life and promote a love of literature. Filled with skeletons, witches, and more seasonal spooks. But remember, this is a family activity, so be sure to watch the videos with your children and get them talking. $21.27. www.scholastic.com

Beyond the Game of Kings

Chess has been around for hundreds of years, and it’s always been associated with intelligence, strategy, and memory. But over the past decade—partly due to the increase in video and smartphone games—the Game of Kings, has lost some of its allure and its audience. This week we take a look at two great chess-like games that are fun, engaging, and at least as intellectually stimulating and challenging as chess.

Arimaa
arimaa gameFrom a distance, Armiaa looks like chess: There are two sides, each with 16 pieces, and it’s played on an 8×8 board. But the similarity ends there. The most powerful piece is the elephant and the weakest are the rabbits. All the pieces move the same way: one space left, right, or forward. And all but the rabbits can move one space backwards.

arimaa2The company’s tag line is “Intuitively simple… intellectually challenging” and they’re right. Unlike chess, where there’s only one way to set up the board, in Armaa, players set up their pieces any way they’d like (as long as they’re all in two “home rows”). The game’s inventor estimates that there are as many as 64 million ways to start the game, as opposed to only 20 in chess. And unlike chess, where weaker pieces protect the stronger ones, here, the strong protect the weak and the goal is to get one of your rabbits all the way across the board. Each turn, players can move up to four spaces—all by one piece or divided among several. You can use your turn to advance or protect your own pieces or to push or pull your opponent’s to less favorable spaces—or to one of the four trap spaces that remove pieces from the board. Sounds a little complicated, but the rules are easy enough for kids as young as five or six to learn.

Once the game is underway, there are an average of 17,000 possible moves at any given time (vs. about 30 in chess), Armiaa stimulates logical and strategic thinking, improves focus and problem-solving skills, stimulates creativity, and may even help with math. But more than that, it’s a delightful way for a parent and child to spend time together. $30.00 http://arimaa.com

Commander-in-Chief (X-Plus Products)
commander-in-chief 1While the goal of this game is similar to chess—capture your opponent’s leader—Commander-in-Chief turns the traditional 8×8 chess board on its head. Well, actually, on its side: the game is played with the board in a diamond shape. The 15 spaces in the corner facing each player are brown and represent land, and there’s a wide blue ocean between the two warring forces. The board is set up in a specific way and the 15 solid, nicely crafted pieces—which include tanks, submarines, helicopters, destroyers, fighter jets, bombers, and amphibian assault vehicles—can move through the air, on land, by sea, or in some cases, a combination.

commander-in-chief2Each piece has unique directional movements and restrictions, and keeping track of them can be tough. But every time you play (and you’re going to want to play this game over and over), you’ll get closer to mastering them—just like in chess. Until then, the game comes with two one-page reference guides—one for each side.

Commander-in-Chief isn’t quite as involved as chess, but it definitely requires logic, strategic thinking, planning, and logic. A great game for beginners and experts alike, it takes only about 30 minutes to play. And one especially nice feature that separates it from other similar games is that it can be played by 2 or 4 players. $34.00. http://www.commander-in-chief.com/the-game.html

Family Video Games, Chapter 1

If you’re a gamer, you probably have a special place in your house where you can fire up your games and settle in—all alone. But why not share the fun with your kids? Here are some family friendly video games you and your kids can play together.

Rayman Legends (Wii U, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Playstation Vita and Windows)
Rayman is back in all his glory in this follow-up to Rayman Origins. This time, Rayman is out to jump, punch, bounce, and float his way through 120 levels of 2.5 dimensions of platforming fun. (2.5 dimensions means that it’s a 2D game, but characters hop from front to back or creatures will slink from area to area, which makes for some very interesting game play.) Legends is one of those easy-to-play-but-hard-to-master games, but no matter where you are, it’s a blast. When running from dragons or just trying to hop off a cliff before it crumbles away, the most rewarding moments in Rayman are when you get that wonderful end-of-level Rayman dance. The Wii U version includes a free Challenges app.

Hot Wheels, World’s Best Driver (Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and PC)
When you think of Hot Wheels, you probably think of small cars and big fun, with every surface in your home becoming a track and tiny cars that become middle-of-the-night tripping hazards. But now, you and the kids can play the Hot Wheels video game. You start by selecting a team—each one specializes in a certain driving style: tricks, speed, drifting, and off-roading. Unlike some games where differences between cars are purely cosmetic, here you can actually feel the difference in the way the cars handle. In multiplayer mode, players take turns with the controller, which can frustrate the little ones. But once they’re used to it, this is a really fun game for everyone. Oh, and don’t put those Hot Wheels cars and tracks away—technology is great, but building and racing is too.

Turbo: Super Stunt Squad (Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, Wii U, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3)
This entry from D3 features characters from the movie Turbo. It’s a stunt-based game, kind of like the skateboarding games of yester-year, but replacing the humans and skateboards with speed-boosted snails. Initially only a few levels are open. Each is based on a human environment (for example, a nail salon or the kitchen in a fast-food place), but from a snail’s perspective. On each level, collectibles and upgrades help unlock new abilities and open up new levels to explore and conquer. Each character has a unique feel and special talents, such as Turbo’s Tuck and Roll, and Skidmark’s Nitro Boost. Can be played co-op or solo.

Disney Infinity (Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii U, Wii, and Nintendo 3DS)
Take a toy-to-video-game crossover and add some Disney magic (and player creativity) and you’ve got a fun family-friendly game that children and parent can enjoy together. Disney Infinity is essentially a toy box that you can stock with as few or as many play sets and character pieces as you’d like. Each play set is based on a popular Disney film. The starter pack comes with three sets and three characters: Captain Jack from Pirates of the Caribbean, Sully from Monsters University and Mr. Incredible from The Incredibles. All three are a blast to play either solo or with another player (unfortunately, if you want to play co-op, you’ll need to buy additional characters, but they’re pretty inexpensive). Sorry, no mixing-and-matching: Captain Jack will not be visiting Monsters University.

Now for Something Completely Different

It’s not easy being in the toy and game business. The pressure to continually come up with new ideas—and then transform them into unique, entertaining, fun products that people will actually want to play with—is huge. This week we had a chance to review a number of board games that were clever, innovative, and great fun for the whole family.

Make ‘n’ Break Party (Ravensburger)
make n break partyThis new release adds a new twist to the original Make ‘n’ Break game. The concept is pretty simple: pick a card with a picture of a structure, then build that structure using small blocks before the timer goes off. But here’s the twist. Instead of just building what’s on the card, one player has to describe the structure to a teammate who can’t see the picture. And that’s just the basic game mode. In addition to the picture, each card has several related words which come into play in more advanced modes. In mode two, one player still describes the structure, but can’t use any of the words on the card. For example, if the words are balance and triangle, he or she can’t say either one in any form—something that makes describing what’s on the card harder and the laughter louder. In the toughest mode, the player who’s doing the building is blindfolded. For a maximum of 9 players. The box says ages 10 and up, but younger kids will have a blast too. 3-9 players. $22.00. http://www.ravensburger.com

Front Runner (SimplyFun)
front runner math gameThere are a lot of great math games out there, but we found this one to be especially challenging—in a good way. The setting is a horse race, and each player is a jockey. The horse pawns are numbered 2-7 and are actually the answers to the equations printed on Equation Cards. But instead of solving simple addition or subtraction problems, players are solving for factors, which are the numbers that divide evenly into larger numbers without a remainder (for example, the factors of 10 are 1, 2, 5,and 10). Unlike a lot of other math-based games, Front Runner involves strategy. The only way a horse can move forward is if its number is a factor. Here’s how it works. A problem printed on the card (each card has three problems, one easy, one hard, one even harder) reads X+Y-Z=?. Using three dice, the player rolls 5, 3, and 2. 5+3-2 is 6. Since the factors of 6 are 1, 2, 3, and 6, those horses move forward. But if the player arranges the dice 5+2-3, the answer is 4, whose factors are 2 and 4, so only those horses would move, leaving the others behind. Players try to create equations whose factors advance their horse—but no one else’s. It’s a little complicated in the beginning, but well worth the effort. 2-6 players. Ages 8 and up. http://www.simplyfun.com

Bugs in the Kitchen (Ravensburger)
bugs in the kitchenAt the start of the game, the board is made up of spoons, knives, and forks that are arranged so they trap a battery-operated HEXBUG that’s trying to escape. Players take turn rolling a die that shows one of the utensils, which they can turn, creating paths that the bouncing bug will follow. Players strategically turn the utensils so they lure the bug into their trap. Bugs in the Kitchen is fast paced, raucous, and can be played in less than 10 minutes by 2-4 exterminators. Ages 6 and up. $44.99. http://www.ravensburger.com